In the final stages of our Ancient Greek  Unit, we held a mini Olympic game festival! We had four events: the long distance run, the short distance run, the long jump, and discus throwing. These events were used at the original Olympic events in 776 BC, and are still being used in the modern Olympics. I timed and measured everyone who participated, then announced the bronze, silver, and gold medal winners. The kids all did a great job!

5th grade champions

Dilon won FOUR gold medals!

4th grade champions

3rd grade champions

1st and 2nd grade- it was raining on their QUEST day, so they made Olympic torches instead

Our classes have been studying ancient Greece for the past few months. From architecture and cultural food to playwrights and catapults, we have had a wonderful time learning about the rich heritage of the Greeks!

The students taste tested several different kinds of Greek food, then surveyed their classmates and created bar graphs to determine everyone’s favorite and least favorite type of Greek food. They weren’t too excited about some of the foods!

In Ancient Greece, the Spartans created one of the first catapults.  Called the Ballista, the Spartans used it to help turn themselves into some of the most successful warriors in history. We experimented with force, motion, and levers by making our own catapults with a base, rubber bands, a plastic spoon, and some fruit loops.  The farthest distance was 38 feet! I have some impressive soldiers!

Too much force!

On August 21, my youngest QUEST students, their parents and I spent the night at the Georgia Aquarium. We enjoyed exploring the aquarium, seeing all the behind the scene stuff, learning about recycling and animals, and sleeping in front of one of the giant fish tanks!

We had a great time! I hope to take another group back again soon!

After a meeting at the county office, gifted facilitators were asked to not schedule their two oldest grade levels on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That means, if I have fifth grade on Tuesday, I cannot have fourth grade on Thursday. (Which I do!) So, fourth grade will now be coming to QUEST on Mondays, and third grade will be coming on Thursdays. This starts next week, August 23!

The first full week of QUEST is almost behind us, and it’s gone very well! All my new faces are catching on as to how we do things, and all of my kiddos from last year are pros. I have, as always, enjoyed spending time teaching your children!

See some of you guys on Saturday for the Aquarium! More field trip information for this school year will be sent home soon!

This is an excellent question, as the QUEST schedule changes from year to year. Here is our weekly schedule:

Monday- 3rd grade

Tuesday- 5th grade

Wednesday- 1st and 2nd grade

Thursday- 4th grade

All students are served one day a week, for 6 hours. In our classroom, we have reading groups and at least one math assignment each day. We also focus on either social studies or science every afternoon, depending on our current unit. Writing is also an integral part of our day, and this year we are starting journals. I pair the students together and each student will write about an assigned topic, and I will read and respond to their entries.  We also read novels together, as most of my students really enjoy being read to. I select a novel on or above their grade level, and we read a chapter a day until the book is complete and students are ready to take an AR test. Our units and studies move quickly, so I encourage my students to have perfect attendance.  Classes are scheduled to begin the week of August 16. I can’t wait to get started!

All students will need:

• (1) One-inch binder
• Two packs of wide-ruled notebook paper
• 1 package of regular pencils (not mechanical)
• One box of Kleenex

• If you have an upcoming 1^st or 2^nd grader: 1 bottle of hand sanitizer
• If you have an upcoming 3^rd grader: 1 pack of white index cards
• If you have an upcoming 4^th grader: 1 roll of paper towels  
• If you have an upcoming 5^th grader: 1 package of white paper (either copy or construction paper)

We do a lot of projects and we use these supplies all year! The fact that we do so many hands on actitivies is one reason why my students enjoy QUEST so much, so thank you for your support!

It’s the beginning of  another school year at IES and I have a solemn vow to make to all my QUEST parents… I WILL keep the blog current this year! I am not planning a wedding this year, and I am not chasing a 3 year old (She is in school now!), so things are less hectic for me, which means more time for me to devote to our blog! So, let’s get things started!

My QUEST kiddos 2009-2010

October 2009

Last year was great! We had a lot of fun, learned some cool new things, and read a ton of books! This year is going to be another great one as well! Supplies needed and class expectations will be posted next!